Recommendation 126

There were also questions raised as to the effectiveness of sanctions in encouraging claimants to find work. The Poverty Alliance said that ‘sanctions are both ineffective in their stated purpose of encouraging entry into employment and act only to exacerbate poverty and income crisis.’318 Marion Davis of One Parent Families Scotland called for a more positive approach than the current system of sanctions for claimants who fail to meet their claimant commitment. They reasoned that parents are ‘desperate to and aspire to do things for their children’319 when they are looking for work to help to support their families and, when on Universal Credit, ‘do not need to be told they are going to get their benefit cut’.320 Instead they presented a picture that claimants ‘want to be part of society, to be part of the economy’321 and so the welfare system should foster a more ‘positive model, [where] they are supported to move into work.’322